Thai private school forced to admit extortion of student
THE DIRECTOR of a well-known private school in the southern province of Trang has admitted that a group of students has extorted money from fellow students at the school.
Wanthana Asoksakul, director of Darunothai School, also Saturday apologised for the situation and to the public for not being able to competently look after all of the children enrolled
She said a committee had been set up to investigate, and students implicated in extortion had been suspended.
Wanthana said she had been unaware that the school was implicated in cases of extortion until a story was run on social media.
The parents said during the past year their child on several occasions had returned home with injuries, but said they were inflicted in accidents.
In the conversations, students allegedly threatened to hurt the child if he failed to give them money.
When the child responded that he did not have any money, the other students allegedly demanded that he steal some.
The parents of the victim filed a complaint at a local police station last Wednesday.
They also decided to remove their child from Darunothai School and enrol him elsewhere.
“We need to ensure our child’s safety,” the mother of the young victim said.
According to her, executives at the Darunothai School had instructed her child to be vigilant and try to avoid the bullies.
“They studied in the same class. What was my child supposed to do?” she said.
The mother also confirmed that the parents of the bullies had already contacted her to apologise.
“Their children must have learned a lesson,” the mother said.
Source: Nation
